


Home Frontier

by TottWriter



Series: Digital Fallout [2]
Category: Digimon Frontier
Genre: Drama, Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon, inter-season crossover believe it or not, you can easily believe "not" at first though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 08:47:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7677826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TottWriter/pseuds/TottWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were back. They'd won. They'd saved the world, in fact...and no one else knew. No one else understood what they'd been through, or how it had irreversibly changed them all. Where was their happy ending? In fact, where was <em>any</em> kind of ending?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is Part Two of Digital Fallout and _is_ set chronologically after Adventure's End, but the first few chapters really don't interact with it, so I feel less guilty about posting it here before AE is complete. In all honesty, I'm mostly posting this prologue for Odaiba Week, because it works well as a standalone anyway.

**Return**

* * *

 

 

_5th April, 2003_

He was alive.

He was _alive_.

As they stood in the elevator shooting towards the surface once more, Kouji wasn’t sure what to think. He’d gained a brother, there in the digital world, and hardly gotten to know him at all amid their frantic, futile race to defend the last fragments of it from the Royal Knights. And then Lucemon had awoken, beaten all kinds of crap out of them and suddenly Kouichi was disappearing right in front of him. The brother he’d spent most of his life not even _knowing_ about was taken away from him again, and he’d been forced to pack his grief and shock into a tight ball because it was that or die. And the truth was, it still hadn’t sunk in that Kouichi was dead, was gone forever—and then suddenly he wasn’t?

Kouji’s head and heart were knots of hot, messed-up emotions, and he was _so_ glad that the only people around him were Takuya and the others, because they at least knew him well enough to not ask how he felt. Takuya led, as always, guiding them out of the lift and to the meeting which Kouji had been waiting so long for. Ever since the corrupted spirits of Darkness had been defeated, and pulled away to reveal his honest-to-God _twin_. Out of the elevator; a hard right round the corner and down the stairs. Down one flight, and another. Closer and closer and—

—and he was gone. Gone _again_. He didn’t remember stopping to ask the people at the foot of the stairs where Kouichi was—Takuya and the others would fill in those blanks in his memory later. He was off, running once more to catch up. Chasing his brother down darkening streets, on and on; past the pain in his side; past the faint, breathless cries from the others to wait up. Block after block to the medical centre. Through corridors, up stairs. All he could think of was Löwemon’s static-laden voice bringing him hope. Kouichi was there, somewhere in that building. He couldn’t even explain to the others how much he _knew_ Kouichi needed him, but need him Kouichi did. He could feel it, in his gut. In his bones. With every fibre of his being he knew he had to hurry. Knew there wasn’t much time.

Knew which _room_ he needed, even though no one was going to tell five children the way to resuscitation. And then to burst in, only to find out that they were too late? _NO_. He wasn’t going to accept that. He wasn’t going to give up. They’d been through too much, faced too many odds. There was no _way_ he was going to have survived all that only to lose Kouichi now.

In all honesty, it didn’t matter if he’d brought Kouichi back through sheer stubborn refusal to let go, or if the last act of their digivices had somehow done… _something_. He knew he’d be reliving that moment for the rest of his life anyway, so there was plenty of time to stew on it. All that mattered there and then was clinging to his brother. The brother he’d lost and found, and lost and found, and never planned on losing again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In anticipation of keen eyes, yes, I know, I picked a year and day that isn't canon. This is for the crossover part of the story. It can't be helped.


	2. Homecoming

  
In hindsight, the birthday cake thing should have been his first sign. _Their_ first sign. But then, in the midst of the longest day of his life, was it any surprise it had been overlooked? Besides. Hindsight always comes in 20:20. With multiple action replays, so those little details which seemed unimportant at the time can leap right out at you. The ones which turn out to be crucial, but get overlooked because of bigger, flashier events overshadowing them.

Such as Kouichi not dying. Or, well, _actually dying_ , but not for long. The sort of thing you tend to think of as a pretty big deal, basically.

And then the doctors had woken up from the stunned silence they'd fallen into, and realised that there were five children in resuscitation who really ought not to be there—and miracle or not, were certainly _not_ going to remain there while their patient was stabilised.

Kouji had screamed the place down with fury, of course, actually fighting the porters who carried him out. It wasn't so much that Takuya _blamed_ him—or that any of the others did, for that matter—but it _had_ meant that none of them were allowed back in to see Kouichi. Apparently hospitals liked nice, controlled environments for people who had recently come back from the dead.

“Visiting hours for the ICU are ten 'til eleven in the morning, and four 'til five in the afternoon,” the nurse informed them. “I'm sorry, but only immediate family can visit outside of those hours.”

“I _am_ family,” Kouji said, his voice testing the limits of what could be considered politeness. “He's my _twin_.”

And then it had taken all of them to calm him down again when it transpired that, due to his having a different surname and there being no record of their father on Kouichi's medical notes, he would need to bring some evidence if she was going to let him in. Takuya suspected she was deliberately playing dumb to keep Kouji out, given the whole porter thing.

“It's fine, Kouji,” Izumi said, as he finally slumped into a chair in the corridor. “He's okay, he's not going anywhere, and you can stop by tomorrow, right?” She clasped his hand in her own as she spoke, kneeling in front of him with the others gathered round in a semi-circle. “Besides, if we stay much longer tonight, our families will get really worried.”

“Kouichi _is_ my family,” Kouji said, scowling. He wasn't shouting any more though. They all took that as a good sign.

“He's in the best place right now though,” Junpei said. “And I'm sure he'll understand that you have to go home so your dad doesn't worry. Plus, you look dead on your feet. I know I feel it.”

Tomoki nodded. “I bet Kouichi would want you to rest. You're his brother. He cares about you.”

“We all need rest. We just ran I don't even want to _know_ how far, right after defeating Lucemon.” Sighing, Takuya rubbed his forehead. “And we've still got to get home from here.”

“My house isn't far, actually,” Izumi said, shrugging. “How about the rest of you?”

Junpei had money for the train still in his pocket somehow. Then again, Junpei still had _chocolate_ in his pocket. Takuya would have been prepared to believe it contained some sort of portal to another dimension. And Tomoki, it turned out, didn't live far from Izumi. She offered to walk him home.

Kouji sighed. “It's about seven stops on the train for me,” he said, putting his head in his hands. Seemingly he had accepted having to wait to see his brother at last. “I had a return ticket, but that got lost in the digital world.”

Takuya froze. “Ahh, crap. I just remembered. I left my house with no money.” He groaned, then looked up. “No, wait! My dad was gonna be home late today. Maybe I could call for a lift. He's pretty easy-going, Kouji. I'm sure he'd drop you off at your place too.”

Kouji reluctantly agreed. They could all tell that what he really wanted to do was bunk down in the corridor until someone let him in to see Kouichi again. Then Izumi pointed out that his mother would be along soon.

“What are you going to say to her?” she asked. “I mean, no offence, but you look like a wreck. We all do. She'll probably think you're a troublemaker or something. Don't you want to make a good impression?”

Izumi would later admit that she had probably overdone it a bit there. Kouji paled, looking almost as scared as he had when Kouichi hadn't been at the bottom of the stairs.

“My m-mother?” he stuttered, eyes widening. “I... I hadn't even thought-”

It was _strange_ seeing Kouji so flustered. They were awkwardly silent for a moment, until Takuya stood up.

“Well, we should go now then,” he said. “Before we're all so late home that our parents _do_ notice, and ground us all or something.”

“But... Koichi...”

“He's not going anywhere tonight Kouji. You heard that nurse. ICU. They're going to want to keep an eye on him,” Junpei said, resting an arm on Kouji's shoulder.

“Wait. We should go, yes, but Kouji has a good point,” Izumi said. “I mean, he won't know where we went, right? What if he gets disoriented and thinks something happened to us? Or if they transfer him somewhere before we can come back?”

“But the nurse won't let us back in,” Tomoki pointed out.

Takuya sighed. It was maddening, to have gone through so much together, and then be foiled by a nurse on a hospital ward. If only she would let them in for just a minute...

“I've got it!” Junpei cried. “Maybe she'll let us write him a note. Surely there can't be a problem with giving him a bit of paper, even if she won't let us in.”

“I dunno,” Takuya said. “She seems like the sort who'd say no just to spite us if you ask me. And she _really_ doesn't like Kouji anymore.”

Izumi snorted. “You boys just don't know how to negotiate. Give me a note and I'll get it in, trust me.”

The note was duly written, on paper begged off of others waiting in the corridor to see friends or family. It was a Friday evening; there were plenty of people in the hospital. Kouji took charge; both because it was _his_ brother in the ICU, damn it, and because he turned out to have the neatest handwriting. That done, they turned the paper over to Izumi, and stood well back while she approached the nurse.

They weren't able to hear what she said. Takuya noticed a definite change in her body language as she stood there. She acted... _odd_. Clasping hands together, bunching her shoulders, bobbing her head around, and generally acting like, well. A girl. A really _girly_ girl. Which was odd because although Izumi had always been very much of the female persuasion, she wasn’t normally the type to ham it up so much. Sure, she'd done the whole "charming and cute" routine before, but this was...different.

Kouji snorted. “I can't believe she's doing that,” he said, shaking his head.

“Believe what you like,” Takuya said, awed. “It _worked_.”

Sure enough, they could all see Izumi handing over the piece of paper, to a nurse who seemed an awful lot friendlier than she had been earlier. The woman reached over and patted Izumi on the shoulder. Junpei gaped.

“What did she _say?_ ” he asked.

She gave them a thumbs up as she walked back over to where they had huddled in a group.

“Told you I could do it,” she said, grinning. “You've just got to know how to talk to people.”

Kouji threw several regretful looks back at the ICU as they walked away, Junpei busily asking Izumi what exactly she'd said to the nurse to win her over so completely. Izumi refused to elaborate.

They parted company at the entrance to the hospital after exchanging phone numbers. Junpei had to hurry off to the station, and Izumi pointed out that she should get Tomoki home before it got completely dark.

Kouji leant against a wall as Takuya called for a lift. He had his head down enough that Takuya thought he was completely engrossed in the floor or something, until he sprang forwards, clutching Takuya's shoulders and pressing himself into the tatty red material of his shirt.

“Is she gone?” he hissed after a moment.

Takuya blinked, covering the mouthpiece of his phone. “Is who... ohhh. She was here?” He straightened suddenly, hearing his father pick up the phone. “Dad! Ah, no, sorry, it's kinda loud here. Can I uh, get a lift? I'm in Shibuya, at the Medical Centre. What, no, no _I'm_ fine. It's kinda of a long story, actually...”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, half chuckling as he fiddled with the back of his hat. Man, it was weird how easy it was to fall back into talking on the phone. As though it really _had_ only been an hour or so since he’d run out of his house. Turning, he saw Kouji was standing up again, frowning at him. Right, yes. To the point.

“But yeah. Dad. Um, a friend got hurt, so we all came to see him. Only we sort of rushed over, and my friend – this is a different friend by the way, not the one who got injured – well, we both lost our train tickets in the rush, so I was wondering if I could get a lift home, and if we could drop Kouji off at...” he paused, and put his hand over the mouthpiece. “Kouji. Where do you live?” he hissed.

“What? Oh. Denenchofu.”

Takuya grinned and gave a thumbs up. “…At Denenchofu. So it's not far or anything. Yeah? Yeaaah, I'm sorry…Yes, I _know_ it's Shinya's birthday, but this was an emergency, you know! Um, no, I kinda didn't tell mum... I forgot? I'll call her right after this, okay? So how long 'til you get here? Awesome.”

He hung up, and sighed. “Phew. Okay, so my dad will be here in about twenty minutes or so. We got lucky – he's still on his way home, and it's not too far out of his way.”

Kouji stared at him, eyebrows raised. “And he just... believed you? That was the most suspicious story I think I've ever heard. You were _clearly_ lying.”

Takuya shrugged. “He'll want to know more later, sure. But right now, the fact is that I'm here, and I should be at home for my little brother's birthday, and if I'm not, then my mum will completely lose it. And she's scary when she's mad.”

“I don't think I _want_ to understand your family,” Kouji said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, you're not the first one to say that,” Takuya replied, grinning.

 

* * *

 

 

The questions started after Kouji got out of the car, thanking Mr. Kanbara for the lift. To Takuya’s surprise, he’d insisted on being dropped off outside a flower shop, of all places. They sat and watched him race through the shop door before pulling away.

“So. Do you plan on telling me what really happened this evening?” his father asked, not looking away from the road. As though it were just an idle question.

“It's like I said, dad. There was an emergency. A friend got hurt. I _had_ to go make sure he was okay. He's in the ICU right now.”

There was a long silence. At last, his father sighed. “Just... let us know next time, okay? And if you happen to be visiting a friend in hospital, perhaps you could mention that part first. I nearly crashed the car when you called.”

Takuya grinned. “Sure thing.”

They were both silent for a few minutes.

“I have to say, Takuya. I'm surprised at well you're handling all of this,” his father said, as they pulled into their driveway. “I don't know many boys your age who could be so calm with a friend in intensive care. What happened?”

Takuya winced. “Uhh. Like I said, it's a pretty long story really. And I mean, it sounds kinda nuts?”

“Really, Takuya,” his father said, raising an eyebrow. “I'd like the true version in that case.”

“Er, shouldn't we be getting inside?” Takuya said, shifting uneasily in his seat. “I mean, Shinya's probably _dying_ to do the cake you know.”

“Shinya can wait a few more minutes.”

Takuya sighed, and thought fast. There was no way his father was going to believe even half of the truth. “It's really complicated, dad. But, it's Kouji's brother in hospital. Only, they don't know each other that well, because Kouji lives with their dad, and Kouichi lives with their mum, so... Well. Kouji was really worried, and we kinda went for moral support.”

“We?” There was a disbelieving tone in his father's voice that made him cringe. He'd slipped up there.

“Um, yeah. A few other friends were there too. But, they live closer to Shibuya, so they were all okay getting home.”

“And when exactly did you meet these friends in Shibuya?”

Well, it was all or nothing. Time to play on his father's workaholic nature.

“ _Dad_ ,” Takuya said, with as much scorn as he could muster. “I've known Junpei, Izumi and Tomoki for ages. Keep up!” He opened the car door, and grinned. “Come on. We've got a birthday to celebrate!”

Luckily, his mother was too busy being relieved they were both home at last to pry into the half-decent explanation he had given her over the phone. She flustered around, getting the last minute preparations ready for dinner, and then nitpicking at Takuya's table manners.

It was _strange_ to be sat at home, as though the last few weeks hadn't happened. Sat eating dinner with his family, smiling and trying to remember the threads of conversations which had happened a few hours ago for his family, and a good couple of months ago for him. Without the ever-present spectre of approaching danger hanging over him. Every car that drove past had him on the edge of his seat, waiting for something to explode, or crash through the wall, or just generally interrupt. At last it was time for the cake.

“I'll light the candles,” he offered, dumping the dinner plates in the sink. Maybe if he was more proactive he'd be able to wind down a little. His parents looked over from the table.

“I'm not sure, Takuya-” his mother began, before his father rested a hand on her shoulder.

“I don't see the harm. I'll be supervising though, got that, son?” he said.

Takuya nodded as his father stood, and fetched the matches down from a cupboard. He held out the box.

“Now, you strike away from yourself, you see? And hold the match near the end so you don't burn your fingers.” There was a concerned frown on his father's face.

“Got it dad,” Takuya replied, grinning. _Oh man, if only they knew._

The first match snapped. They were so _flimsy_. It was just a little stick, after all. Not a digimon who needed the sense knocking into it. He idly wondered how long it would take him to get used to not having to use the whole of his strength for everything, and if the others were going to have similar problems adjusting to being home.

The second match took just fine. He set the box down beside the cake, and held the small flame to the nearest candle. It flickered a little as it spread to the wick. They were arranged in a circle, and he began to work his way around it, going anti-clockwise with the match in his right hand. He was just about to light the fourth candle when his father grabbed his arm, yanking it backwards with a curse that had his mother protesting:

“Hiroaki! Watch your language!”

His father hardly seemed to hear her. “What were you _doing_ , Takuya! You almost leant right across the candle you already lit! You could have burnt yourself. Go and sit down; I'll finish here.”

“Sorry dad,” he mumbled, handing the now extinguished match over. “I didn't think I was that close to it.”

He rubbed his arm idly as he returned to the table. The long day was starting to catch up with him. It kinda sucked that he'd managed to convince his parents that he wasn't safe around a packet of matches though. The irony hurt.

Still. He'd made it home in time for Shinya's birthday cake. He was back with his family, and he hadn't missed anything at all. That was a gift none of of them had expected, and he was going to enjoy it. He couldn't hold back his grin as the cake was brought over and Shinya blew out the candles. Home. After everything, they'd made it home to their families, and Kouichi would be fine, and they'd all stay friends, and everything was going to be _perfect_.

 

* * *

 

Kouji stood outside his front door and took a deep breath. He oughtn’t be nervous. Really. After all, he’d just saved two entire worlds. Compared to that, this should be nothing.

It might even have _been_ nothing, had Kouichi not been stuck in hospital. Had he not caught the briefest glimpse of the mother he had believed dead.

No. If he stopped to think about that now, he’d just get angry with his father, and that was a conversation for another night. For now, he simply had to get through the evening in such a way that no one prevented him going out the next day. He’d vanquished evil, after all. Surely he could handle a few white lies about where he’d been.

He really wished Takuya or Izumi were there. This was exactly the sort of thing they were good at.

The latch on the door clicked, and he just had time to hide the flowers behind his back before it opened to reveal Satomi.

“Oh! Kouji, there you are. I…your father and I were getting worried.”

He let just enough of his honest contrition shine though, to cover the half-lie he was about to tell, and then revealed the flowers.

“Uhh, Happy Anniversary, um… _mum_. I kinda got held up.”

“Oh, Kouji!” Satomi put her hands over her mouth. He could see her eyes welling up a little then and there.

His father appeared in the hallway.

“Kouji, where have you…” He stopped, apparently taking in the scene. There was very little change in his expression, but his voice was softer when he added: “Perhaps we can all eat our dinner now.”

“I have to put these in some water first,” Satomi said, dabbing at her eyes with her free hand.

Only once she was out of sight did his father speak again.

“Thank you, son. It means a lot to her.”

Kouji nodded. He hadn’t really understood before, that family wasn’t just about blood. But as much as he’d met his twin in the digital world, Kouichi wasn’t the only family he’d gained there. It had certainly helped to put some things into perspective.

Of course, he wasn’t going to be able to _explain_ his change of heart to anyone. It would be awkward enough thinking of a plausible explanation for his having suddenly made several very close friends - oh, and finding out that he had a _twin_ who he’d never been told about, who lived with the mother he had thought-

 _No_ , he told himself firmly. _Not tonight_.

At least remaining silent was habitual enough for him that his father didn’t comment. He made it through dinner, keeping his face its usual neutral self. Once or twice he caught Satomi and his father exchanging odd looks, but dismissed it, keeping his head down. He hadn’t realised how tired he was until he’d sat at the table. It was all he could do to remain upright.

“Hey, um, Dad, is it alright if I go out tomorrow?”

His father looked at him a little oddly.

“Have you finished your schoolwork? It’s important not to fall behind, you know.”

Kouji frowned. As far as he was concerned, it had been weeks since he had looked at his books. _Had_ he finished? He wasn’t even sure he could remember what the last topics had been, let alone how far he’d gotten with the work.

“Now, Kousei, I’m sure he can do some in the morning. Then he’d have the afternoon free. Growing boys need fresh air as well as lessons.”

His father smiled crookedly at Satomi. “I suppose you’re right there,” he said, before turning back to Kouji. “Alright. But you do a few hours of homework in the morning, and finish up anything extra before bed, understood?”

Kouji nodded, stifling a yawn. “Yes Dad.”

“And now I think you’d best get some sleep. And maybe try to get home a little earlier in future, okay?”

Nodding again, Kouji rose from the table and cleared his plates away before heading upstairs. He was so tired that he thought sleep would be a welcome and easy escape.

He was wrong.

Somehow, the minute he pulled the covers over himself, the tiredness vanished, to be replaced with tension. Voices downstairs; an aeroplane overhead; the general background hum of Tokyo at night - all combined to set his nerves jangling. Waiting for a conflict he knew would not arrive. It was also dark— _too_ dark—in his room.

Sighing, he got back up and opened the curtains, letting a brighter glow from the city lights illuminate the room. Overhead, the moon peered out from behind a cloud. That was more like it, surely.

Flopping back into bed, he managed to keep his eyes closed for all of about ten seconds before they were open again. How was Kouichi faring, alone in a hospital room? Could he sleep? Had the nurse _actually_ given him the note? And what had he told his— _their_ —mother? They hadn’t had a chance to arrange a story of any sort, and none of them had thought to write one on the note.

It was no good. He needed to sleep, and be rested enough to make some progress on mostly-forgotten schoolwork before visiting Kouichi. And yet, now that he was lying in bed, his thoughts just wouldn’t turn off. Were the others having the same problem?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keen observers will note that, in common with many other fanfic authors, I've plumped with the fanon/dub credit names for the parents, where possible. Honestly, I just hate naming characters, so whenever there's one with even a shred of authenticity to it, it's a bit of a no-brainer for me to roll with what's already there.
> 
> I will probably edit together the mostly-complete fragments of Chapter 2 in my file and post that in a day or two, but after that, I'm going to dial back a bit until I've actually _finished_ something else. It really does feel good to post this though, given how long I've had it sitting around on my computer!


End file.
